''Burnettia cuneata'', commonly known as the lizard orchid, is the only species of the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Burnettia'' in the orchid

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. It is a leafless

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

, mycotrophic herb with one or two leaf-like bracts and up to seven flowers that are brownish on the back and pink or white inside. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to southeastern Australia where it grows in dense thickets in swamps.

Description

''Burnettia cuneata'' is a leafless, mycotrophic herb with a single leaf-like, lance-shaped to egg-shaped bract long and wide near its base. The fleshy, dark purplish brown flowering stem is high and bears up to seven flowers. The flowers are long, wide, brownish on the back and pink or white inside. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s and petals are lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide with the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

sepal forming a hood over the column. The labellum has dark red stripes and is wedge-shaped, long with two longitudinal ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs between September and December but nearly always only after fires the previous summer.

Taxonomy and naming

''Burnettia cuneata'' was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley from a specimen collected in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and the description was published in his book '' The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants''. The specific epithet (''cuneata'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "wedge-shaped".

Distribution and habitat

The lizard orchid grows in dense thickets of '' Melaleuca'' and '' Leptospermum'' in near coastal swamps in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Tasmania and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. In New South Wales it occurs south from the Blue Mountains and in Victoria between Portland and Mallacoota with a disjunct population in the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian rang ...

References

External links

Retired Aussies, ''Burnettia cuneata'', Lizard Orchid

Flickr, Malcolm, ''Burnettia cuneata''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q311032, from2=Q15117465 Monotypic Orchidoideae genera Diurideae genera Orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (Australia) Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Tasmania Megastylidinae Plants described in 1840

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

See also

References

External links